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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Life is full of challenges, even bloggy world is not exceptionnal too, we have loads of cooking and baking challenges. Since i love challenges, am a member of many challenges and one among those challenges is Baking Eggless,a monthly event owned by Gayathri.Our this month's challenge is fantastic Italian Rose cake, this yeasted bread was chosed by Gayathri, actually this bread is called Rose cake which is loaded with eggs, trust me this challenge wasnt that much easy and seriously i think the members of this group will definitely break their heads to make this beautiful bread as eggless. This bread also goes for two days of preparation to get ready and the final bread is super addictive. Yes one cant stop just with one piece. Actually, i was like how am going to do this cake as eggless once Gayathri announced about this month's challenge, coz the number of eggs used in this bread is definitely very challenging to replace.

But a proverb came to my mind,yes Where there's a will, there's a way. I tried my hands finally making this beautiful bread last week.I started gathering the ingredients slowly in evening and finished baking the next day.I replaced the quantities of eggs with yogurt,bakingsoda,fresh cream and my bread came out extremely fabulous.Seriously we didnt missed the eggs here and this buttery rolls are just awesome.

Today finally we did, its our last post for a month of non stop blogging marathon, after going through 29states am taking you all to West Bengal. West Bengal is in the Eastern region of India and its the four most populous state.The roots of Bengali cuisine can be traced back to its origination in ancient Bengal, which comprised of the present day Indian states of Tripura, the Barak Valley of Assam and West Bengal and the independent country of Bangladesh.Fish and lentils served with rice find prominence as the staple food of the Bengalis. A typical Bengali fare follows a certain sequence of food which starts with a dish of bitter taste and ends with a sweet delicacy. A slightly elaborate Bengali meal starts with the first course or starter made from bitter vegetables or herbs, which acts as the starting bitter course. In West Bengal, it is followed by shukto, a thick soupy mixture of vegetables including the bitter guord (korola) in a ginger-mustard sauce. This bitter dish is savored at lunch but skipped at dinner. Rice forms the main component of the meal which remains constant throughout the meal. Bhaat (Hot steamed rice) is first served with ghee, salt and green chilli and shak(leafy vegetables). Then dal (pulses) is served along with different types of bhaja (fried vegetables)or bhate (bolied vegetables). Skillfully cooked items involving multiple vegetables and spices, called dalna, ghonto, torkari, chorchori, etc. is the next item. After this course, the ambol or tauk (chutney) is served which acts as the palate cleanser. It is a tangy-sweet delicacy usually made of pineapple, mangoes, tamarind, tomatoes, papaya or a combination of dry fruits and fresh fruits. Papor(papadum), a type of thin wafer made of potatoes, shagu(sabo) or dal is served as an accompaniment to the chutney. The next corse is the dessert. Doi (yoghurt) is served in its natural flavor or as the sweetened variety, known as Misti Doi (sweet yoghurt). Misti doi is typical to the Bengali cuisine.

No Bengali meal is complete without Mishti (sweets). Sweets form an essential part of the Bengali palate. A meal is considered complete with the serving of paan (betel leaves) which act as a terminal digestive.

Illish maach or Hilsa fish is the speciality of Bengal which is a universal favorite of the Bengalis. It is steam cooked delicately with mustard paste and green chilli to preserve its flavor and tenderness.

Fish is cooked in a variety of methods. A few common methods of relishing fish include frying the fish, fish cooked with gravy, steamed fish or fish prepared in combination with curd.Mustard oil is the preferred medium used for cooking Bengali dishes. This gives a unique flavor to the dishes. Traditional spices and condiments enrich the taste of the dishes. The essence of Bengali cooking lies in maintaining a delicate balance between the main ingredients and the seasoning. Even the humble pulse attains a remarkable taste and identity because of the typical phoron or flavoring added to it. The ever popular panch phoron (blend of five spices) is a distinctive element commonly used in the preparation of the Bengali cuisine. It consists of five elements in equal parts, namely cumin seed, nigella seed, fenugreek seed,aniseed and mustard seed or radhuni (wild celery seeds). Posto (poppy seeds) is another item which is extensively used in Bengali cuisine.Since i want to finish our long marathon with a sweet note, i prepared this extremely delicious kheer r kochuri aka mawa kachori, they came out simply delicious and its seriously hard to resist to it.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Uttarachal now known as Uttarakhand is a state in the Northern part of India, its often referred to ' Land of the Gods' coz of many holy Hindu temples and pilgrimge centres found in the state.It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region on the north, the Mahakali Zone of the Far-Western Region, Nepal on the east and the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh to the south and Himachal Pradesh to the northwest. The state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon, with a total of 13 districts. The beautiful state of Uttarakhand has a very simple, yet delicious cuisine. The food is nutritious as well as tasty. The primary food of Uttarakhand includes vegetables.Uttaranchal food is highly influenced by the topographical and lifestyle of the people. The culture of the people can be found extravagantly in their festive food, that will further the Uttarakhand charm in your holidays. People of Uttarakhand are fond of both vegetarian a well as non vegetarian. The characteristic feature of Uttarakhand food lies the sparing use of milk and milk products. This is due to the fact that in Uttarakhand the hilly cows do not yield good quantity of milk.

Rice is the staple food of the people, but the favorites are the lentils. The most famous dish in Uttarakhand is bhatt (a variety of soya bean) and the rust brown horsegram also called kulath. Among other lentils delight are large dried balls of urad dal, called badis and their smaller version prepared from moong dal called mangodi. These delights are consumed mostly during the winter seasons.One of the common culinary delight of Uttaranchal comprise Mandua (Buck wheat), which is a coarse grain with high fibre content. The use of tomato in Uttaranchal cuisine is minimal and food is essentially cooked in mustard oil or pure ghee. Very interestingly, Hash seeds, locally known as Bhanga are used as spices.Some of the main items on the menu list in Uttaranchal cuisine are Singal, Gahat ki Dal(horsegram dal), Rus(black soyabeans dish), Aloo ke Gutke (spiced boiled potatoes), Kumaoni Raita, Jhangora Ki Kheer, Sani hui Muli and Nimbu(radish and lemon with spices), Kafuli(Spinach dish), Arsa, Gulgula and Kulath Phanu etc..Aloo Ke gukte, i picked this dsih as its one among the main items of this cuisine, this is a famous snacks which is prepared with boiled potatoes. Its quite often prepared in road side shops in the hills.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Special days are need to be treated in a special way, if its a birthday and we dont live near or next to the birthday gal its definitely a better and best way to shower the love we have for them is by wishing them on their birthday virtually. Actually today one of my blogger buddy is celebrating her birthday. My days will be long if i dont speak to her, i feel sad if i dont see her in online, you can guess how important she is. We are best buddies since years eventhough we never had a chance to meet personally, but it doesnt matter friendship dont have boundary and doesnt need to meet face to face, just a fone call or a online chat is enough to grow up this beautiful bond between two persons who shares the same passions. Am talking about Sangee Vijay of Spicy Treats, she is celebrating her birthday today and few of us are going to celebrate her birthday virtually by cooking dishes from Kongunadu, where she comes from.I chosed few dishes from her space but i ended up with this fingerlicking gravy with tomatoes.

Dear SangeeYou are such a special friend,Who deserves a special day,For being who you are andBringing joy in every way.You make me smile and laugh,with everything you do,So today I get to sendA special Birthday wish to you!அன்பு சங்கீதாக்கு..எங்கள் இனிய பிறந்தநாள் வாழ்த்துக்கள்

Uttar Pradesh known as UP is a state in North India with Lucknow as capital and Kanpur as the commercial capital. This states shares it border with Rajasthan,Haryana,Delhi, Uttarakhand,Bihar and Jharkhand.Uttar Pradesh cuisine is famous for it royal dishes. While Nawabs ruling this regions, the royal slow cooking generally used for rice and meat cooking with sealed containers for retaining flavors and juices calle Dum pukht got introduced in this Cuisine.A typical vegetarian meal of Uttar Pradesh consists of roti,rice,dal,sabji, raita and papad. On festive occations, usually tava,the flat pans for making roti is considered as not auspicious and they eat friedfoods. A typical festive thali goes for Puri,Kachauri,Sabji,pulav,papad,raita and desserts.The cuisine of Uttar Pradesh is just as diverse as its geography. Ranging from simple every day fare to rich, elaborate banquets, the cuisine of Uttar Pradesh has absorbed and adapted a variety of cuisines to create wonderful dishes.. Each city offers a different but equally inviting cuisine for the gourmet.Awadhi and Mughlai cuisine are the two prominent cuisine of this state.

Delectable delicacies like chaat, samosa and pakora, that top the most popular street food charts in all of India, are native to this state.Awadhi cuisine spread consists of elaborate dishes like kebabs, kormas, biryani, kaliya, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, roomali rotis, and warqi parathas. The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used like mutton, paneer, and rich spices including cardamom and saffron.While Mughalai is strongly influenced by Persian cuisine of Iran and also have strong similarities with Kashmiri and Punjabi cuisine.ew famous dishes from this cuisiner are Bedvin this Indian flat bread known to have originated in Uttar Pradesh definitely satify your tastebuds. Paired with potato curry or chana (chole) its makes for a happy combination. Crisp and fluffy, the puris are made with whole wheat flour and urad dal while Keema dum ,kheema kebabs,mutton kofta comes from this cuisine, a prefect feast for non vegetarians. Arhar ki dal, a everyday simple classic food with dal a comforting food served with rice. Every household have their own version of this dal.Shir sewain belongs to this rich cuisine which goes for roasted vermicelli, this shir sewain is nothing but a delicious vermicelli kheer tastes fabulous as dessert after having heavy foods.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Tripura is a beautiful state located in the northeastern part of India. This state has a rich cultural heritage and has managed to preserve its traditions and culture even in the present age of technology and advanced science. The state is home to about 19 tribes among which the Kokborok speaking Tripuri people are the major tribe and the Bengali population forms the ethno-linguistic majority. The cuisine of Tripura is rich in variety and carries a distinct taste.The food culture of Tripura is primarily non-vegetarian in nature, though a minority of the people is Vaishnavite and follows strict vegetarian diet. Meat is a prominent part of this cuisine, which is prepared in the traditional way. Other dishes make use of vegetables as well as fish.The Tripuri cuisine is known as Mui Borok in the traditional language. One of the key elements of the Tripuri cuisine is a dish called Berma. It is a dried and fermented fish prepared without oil and flavored with local spices. This dish has a taste bordering on the sour side.

Rice form the basis of food for the people of Tripura. The dominance of rice on the food culture,you can see the existence of rice in every aspect of the cuisine.The cuisine of Tripura uses a number of spices to render the dishes a delicious taste. Among the spices the most commonly used ones are mustard seeds, paanch phoron (a blend of 5 spices used to temper the dishes and comprising of onion seeds, white cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds and mustard seeds), green and red chillies, turmeric.. The state produces a lot of green vegetables which are used by the people. Commonly found vegetables of the Tripuri cuisine are eggplants, chillies, pumpkins, bamboo shoots and corn. As like other Northeastern states, this cuisine also goes for fermented foods,local herbs, delectable meat dishes and bamboo shoot. I chosed to cook this Kosoi bwtwi which is a popular food of Tripuri cuisine as vegan and skipped the Berma fish used usually in this dish. This dish tastes good with rice with a mild garlic flavour,this dish was almost like steamed french beans which we usually have for our dinner with breads.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Tamil Nadu, is a South Indian state which is known for its distinct taste for food and offering a huge variety of vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian food items.The common ingredients for all Tamil foods are generally red chillies, fresh coconut, tamarind, turmeric and pinch of asafoetida. The common items of this place are foods like the dosas, idli and upma. Moreover, Pongal and Uttappam served with Sambar, Milagai podi and Coconut chutney are appetizing. These light items generally are served along with a cup of hot coffee that completes this signature dish of a typical Tamil cuisine that is relished by the people of this land.

Apart from snacks, coming to the main course, meals of Tamil cuisine that is bound by rice along with the regular side dishes being offered consists of huge varieties of Poriyals ( curries), Kootu, Avial, Kozhambu (stews), Rasam, Sambar and Thayir (Yoghurt or Curd).The main course meal of a Tamil food is known as a sappadu that is served traditionally on banana leaves. The reason for this is because of the addition of an extra flavour from the leaves making good apetite.Since the culture also have undergone improvisations by changing the habit and now the ‘sappadu’ is served on stainless steel plates.

The typical and authentic Tamil cultured main course food that is called “Virundu Sappadu” where the meal is served on a banana leaf. While having food on tender banana leaves, the upper half of the leaf is for the side dishes, while the staple foods is to be served in the bottom half. The leaf’s lower end corner to be served with the desserts, which consists of a sweet, milky payasam, along with Kesari and Sweet Pongal. While the right upper end of the plate is to serve with some pickle or chutni or a touch of salt whereas the centre of the plate has been served with fried items such as yam, banana chips, potato, vadai and Appalams (crispy papads).For my today's post, i cooked up a Mini lunch thali which consists of three curries, a sambar with appalam,vada and with a payasam. It was real feast to have this dishes for a lunch.Go through this thali and enjoy it virtually.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Sikkim, this state is located in Himalaya and its is bordered by Nepal in west,Bhutan in east and West Bengal in South.As per wiki,Sikkimese cuisine is one of the popular cuisines coming from North-East India. Sikkimese are traditionally rice eaters. Sikkim is the only state in India with an ethnic Nepali majority and for this reason, Nepalese cuisine is very popular in Sikkim.The staple food of the people of Sikkim is rice though they take maize as well. They have their own cuisine culture. Sikkhim food is said to be very delicious and it suits to their clime as well.Sikkhim cuisine is influenced by Chinese cuisine and the other North Indian states cuisines.Sikkhim people prepare different type of fern-based foods and they use fermented bamboo in their cooking too. The tomato achar of Sikkhim is well-known. They also take Momos and noodles in abundance.

Apart from momos, the other dishes from this Sikkimese cuisine is completely unknown for me and while searching a different dish other than momos for this state, i got this Tama curry here.Do you know this Tama is a non-fermented bamboo shoots. Some varieties of bamboo shoots commonly grown in the Sikkim Himalayas are Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus sikkimensis and Bambusa tulda locally known as ‘choya bans’, ‘bhalu bans’ and ‘karati bans’, respectively are edible when young. These bamboo shoots are collected, defoliated and boiled in water with turmeric powder for 10-15 min to remove bitter taste of bamboo. Tama is ready for consumption. Tama is commonly sold in the local markets during the months of June to September when young bamboo shoots sprout.For making this bamboo shoot curry with canned bamboo shoots i picked from Chinese store.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

April is a month of Easter and its time to celebrate by baking many Easter special bakes. Most of the European countries have a tradition of baking rich,buttery,eggy sweet bread for Easter and this Easter bread is quite different from the other breads. Yes these Cypriot breads are savouries. Flaounes are savoury cheese pies baked for Greek Orthodox Easter, traditionally made on Good Friday,these cheesy pies are part of fast breaking meal as meat and cheese arent eaten during this time. The cheese traditionally used in these pies is called Flaounes cheese which is produced locally by Cypriot shephers, but this cheese is very difficult to find outside of the country.Flaounes cheese can be substituted with a combination of both hard and softer cheeses, the cheese filling will be very salty, so its better to chose a cheese which is less in salt.

Flaounes cheese can be replaced by Greek cheeses or other cheeses like Halloumi, Cheddar, Italian cheese like Parmesan, Pecorino or either with French cantal cheese. I prepared my eggless Flaounes with a mixture of both cantal and emmental cheese which is easily available here.Couple of ingredients used in Flaounes are Mahleb and Mastic, mahleb is made by powdering the dried pits of wild mediterranean cherry and mastic is the dried resin of a shrub. Both these spices are quite common in Greek and Middle Eastern Cuisine, since there is no substitute for these both ingredients you can skip them in this Flaounes, they doesnt change the taste of this yeasty cheesy pies. These Flaounes are going to be this month's bread for a monthly event called We Knead To Bake by Aparna.

Rajasthan is in Northwestern part of India, its one the largest states which is rich in culture, colourful traditions famous for its grand forts,majestic temples, amazing landscape,splendid costumes and obviously for its delicious cuisines.The cuisine of Rajasthan had its uniqueness and you cant find it anywhere. Rajasthan is a desert and coz of this reason, this states has always faced a scarcity of water, the dearth of water results in the growth of fresh vegetables and fruits. Due to this conditions, the Rajasthani peoples prefer foods that can be preserved easily for days and could be eaten without reheating.They use less water and used milk,buttermilk and calrified butter to cook their dishes which takes the taste of this cuisine to an another level.Rajasthani cuisine is primarily vegetarian in nature and different regions of Rajasthan is famous for different kinds of cuisine.This cuisine is developed under the influence of Rajputs and Brahmins. The royal kitchens o Rajasthan have large number of unique dishes. The Vaishanava, Bishnois, Marwaris and Jains are strictly vegetarians and they developed innvovative vegetarin foods.

Rajasthan is a land where both kinds of dishes find equal prominence. While most Rajasthani families are strict vegetarian by nature, on the other hand the Rajputs or the royal families enjoyed meat in various styles. Popular dishes of Rajasthan is Dal Baati Churma,Dal shorba,Tamatar shorba, rotis, parathas,poori, kachoris etc. Lapsi is an another famous delicacy of Rajasthan made with dalia. Missi rotis, Tikadia are the rotis prepared quite often. Rajasthani people often substitute their wheat rotis with Jowar ki roti, Bajre ki roti, chane ki roti etc.Since Rajasthani heat is unbearable, people prefer homemade drinks, common drinks of Rajasthan are Jal jeera, Pudina Nimbu Pani, Kairi ka Pani. However the cuisine of Rajasthan is so rich in taste and flavor that you cant describe it in words.Rajasthani sweets have many popular dishes like Firni, Kalakand, Kaju Katli, Mawa kachori,none can resist to these delicious sweets.Ghevar is a special sweet from Jaipur, famous for it unique taste.List of famous Rajasthani sweets are long, am sure one would have already enjoyed their dishes atleast once in their life.For Rajasthan special, i picked this crispy fritters aka Kachoris with spiced green peas. Mattar Kachori,these crispy spiced green peas mixture stuffed in a maida dough goes for a delicious preparation.This post also goes to Vegan Thursdays.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Punjab, a state from Northern India and shares its border with Himachal Pradesh,Haryana and Rajasthan in east,south and southwest and Paksitani province of Punjab in the west.Their cuisine is well known for the varieties of foods. Staple food of a Punjabi is chappathi or roti, they use different wheat in making them and use rice only for special occasions. Some Punjabis are strictly vegetarian while a group of Punjabis consumes non vegetarian foods. You will be able to taste varieties of spices in homemade foods while the foods cooked in Punjabi restaurants aka dhabbas will be filled with cream and butter. Since rotis are the staple food of Punjabis they use either wheat or maize,they consume dals like yellow moongdal and black gram in their cuisine often. Milk based dishes are very popular in Punjabi food. This cuisine will also have rustivc touch,in rural areas people will use tandoors to cook their dishes,this method of cooking food gives a fabulous taste and hence tandoor dishes are world famous dishes liked by many peoples around the world.

Punjabi foods are rich in proteins and the famous dishes prepared with pulses,beans and legumes are Dal Makhani,choley,Dal Amritsari,Rajma, Sarson da saag,while the famous breads are Naans,parathas,Kulcha, Tandoori roti, Pulka. Do you know the popular combination dishes of Punjab?, Sarson do saag with makki ke rotis (mustard greens with corn roti), Bhatura and pindi chole (puffy maida puri with channa) Rajma with Jeera chawal (red kidney beans with cumin rice) Aloo paratha with dahi (potato paratha with curd) Dal Makhani with tandoori roti (black gram& red beans curry with roti cooked in tandoor oven). Their food is not complete with pickle,salad and definitely lassi. Punjabis are font of breads,but still they cook rice to have with rajma or just flavor them with cumin,fried onions. During winter, rice is cooked like a sweet dish with jaggery, sugar cane juic and this dish is calle Rao ki kheer.I picked a traditional Punjabi dish Rajma, which i served with cumin rice for our lunch. Both makes a prefect pair and we had a satisfying lunch.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Pondicherry - this place is very special to me, yes its my hometown. Pondicherry is in Southern part of India, its one among the Union territory, we have our chief minister and a chief secretariat.Pondicherry, heavily influenced by French, we have the street names in French, yes The french way of life left a deep impact in our lifestyle and in our cuisine. Pondicherry cuisine, is a mixed cuisine of French, Tamilnadu, Andhra, Kerala and with some Bengali touch too.Pondicherry cuisine involves many spices,obviously gravies and side dishes are prepared basically with mixed paste of coconut,poppy seeds and cashewnuts or simply stir fries have grated coconut definitely in it thus this cuisine have very rich flavourful dishes.Pondicherry is one of the famous tourist place and now its one of the fetish place for movie shootings,you cant miss a movie shooting atleast once a week, because of this many 5 stars hotels are showing their head here and there in Pondicherry. Pondicherry is called French Riviera of the East.

Been born in Pondicherry, i have been pampered by many traditional dishes and when i was about to chose a traditional dish i picked Assaadu which means literally Kurma. Christian community in Pondicherry calls their kurma as assaadu and this dish is prominently prepared with meats or seafoods, but i prepared mine simply with potatoes. You might have heard the name kavappu which means bhajji, the gramflour coated fritters. Most important spices cooked in this cuisine is peppercorns,fennel seeds, cumin seeds,poppy seeds,coriander seeds. Since Pondicherry is situated near Bay of Bengal, we are seafood lovers and we get super fresh seafoods. My today's post from my place is Potato Assaadu and chicken puttu aka shredded chicken, actually we make puttu with shark fish/Sura meen which is quite famous in my place, i simply replaced the shark fish with chicken.Both dishes served with rice makes a satisfying meal definitely.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Orissa/Odisha is a state located on the South east coast of India, their cuisine known as Oriya cuisine.Most of the dishes from thos cuisine tastes delicious coz of their characteristic taste and flavor. This delicious and simple cuisine is influenced by the cuisines of the neighboring states of Bihar and West Bengal. People of Orissa are a happy union of both vegetarians and non vegetarians but non vegetarian foods is usually avoiced during the religious ceremonies, Mustard oil is used in everyday cooking and ghee is used during special days. Rice is the staple food of this state and wheat is the second popular crop, vegetables like brinjal, pumpkin,gourd are usually cooked. A traditional Oriya meal is served on large thali and other dishes are served in small bowls and placed around the large plate.A typical Oriya meal includes the intake of Saaga (green leaf-based dish), Bhaji (fried vegetable dish), Bhaat (rice), Dal (pulse), Besara or Mahura (curry tempered with spices), Machha tarkari (fish curry) and Khatta (chutney). Channa Dali is a preferred dish of the Oriyas which is a sweetened pulse dish tempered with coconuts, raisins, dry fruits and spices. Dalma is another favorite item of the Oriyas as the dish is a mixture of lentils and a number of vegetables and that make it a very nutritional dish. During the summer months the people of Orissa enjoy Pakhala (fermented rice seasoned with yoghurt and spices). Mitha Bhaat (sweetened rice tempered with a number of spices) is also a popular dish. People are also fond of Polao (rice cooked with butter, nuts, raisins, vegetables and spices).

No Oriya meal is complete without chutneys, so variety of chutneys are cooked and needless to say Oriya cuisine have a list of sweets especially milk based sweets.Pitha is a local name of cakes which are prepared with traditional methos. Tea and coffee are the popular beverages and Bel Pana is the drink made with milk, a pulp of wood apple, sweetened with sugar and flavoured with black pepper. Fresh Fruit like wood apple,mangoes,jackfruits,watermelons, bananas are eaten by the people in Orissa. I cooked the famous dalma with yellow moongdal and bottlegourd along with channa chadchadi a stir fry with black chickpeas.Both makes a prefect meal and we had our lunch with these fingerlicking foods. Dalma and channa chadchadi are very quick and simple comforting foods which gets ready easily.Sending to CWS- Chickpeas guest hosted by Nalini.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Twice a month am introducing newbie bloggers to this immense blogging virtual world, just to showcase their blogs with their guest posts they prepred specially for me and i named the event as Rendez vous with a foodie. Many new fellow bloggers came towards me to join this event and shared their fabulous dishes since ever i started this event. Happy that this event is going successfully since a year. I came to know more about my guest hosts through their replies they shared for my questions along with their guestposts. Each and every posts of my guest hosts are unique in their own way.

Blogging,this immense virtual world is definitely very close to my heart, i gained a bunch of good friends, well wishers and many blogger sisters. My today's guest is also one among them and she was a wonderful person who blogs at What's On The List. I happened to met her during a Food challenge and she was super kind enough to join me for making a guest post.She lives in Australia, am honoured to introduce Joanne Ferguson through my event.Am happy to say that i have an Australian blogger friend, obviously i have to say a big thanks to this beautiful bloggy world.

Nagaland belongs to the Northeastern part of India, this state is covered by mountains which gives a unique beauty to this land. Nagaland is a land of culture and cuisine, the various tribes in this state have their unique dishes and the cuisine differes from the other tribes. A typical Naga meal have rice with a meat dish, a couple of boiled vegetable and definitely a chutney.The important characteristic of this cuisine is the dishes are cooked by boiling the ingredients and they avoid mostly frying. The Nagas are Non vegetarian lovers, obviously their cuisine have unique taste as they cook their foods with local ingredients which are sometime hard to find out of this state. Pork meat is very popular in this cuisine, this meat cooked with bamboo shoots is the popular dish of this cuisine. Chillies and ginger are the most important ingredients used in this cuisine and obviously local herbs and leaves are used as well.Fermenting food is famous in the cuisine of Nagaland just to preserve their food, the food items are first boiled and then dried under the sun or near the fire. Then later wrapped in banana leaf and stored for future use.

Tribes of Naga eat many animals and insects, yes they eat dog meat and wild animals they are considered as delicacy in Nagaland.Many unique believes and methods of preparing and having food have made the cuisine of Nagaland one of most unique cuisines of India which has till now retained and remained largely unaffected by the modernization of the food culture in the country.Obviously we had hard time to get a vegetarian dish from this cuisine, finally i ended my search of chosing a vegetarian dishes from this state stopped with this Dal Egg curry. Dunno whether these dishes are eaten there since we dont have any source of Nagaland dishes we started sticking to the recipe sources we got through the web.Coming to this dal egg curry, we enjoyed thoroughly with rice and pickles, a different dal curry and we loved it.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Mizoram is one among the Northeastern state of India. Mizoram have a distinct food culture and its quite different from other cuisines of India. Traces of Chinese food culture and north Indian style of cuisine find its presence in Mizo food culture.Non Vegetrian delicacies are most popular of the Mizo cuisine eventhough vegetables are quite eaten by the local population but non vegetarian item is a must in their meal. Rice is their staple food served with both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. Bamboo shoots and local herbs are the vital ingredients of their cuisine. Mizo cuisine is basically simple, with less pices in nature this cuisine tastes delicious.They cook their foods with either boiling and steaming, the common spices used are ginger, garlic,onions and chillies. Mizo people dont have dessert after having their meals, instead of that they prefer having fresh fruits after their meals. Zu or tea is the popular beverage, locally made wines are relished by natives and thee Lubrusca grape wine is very popular.

Among the popular items are Bai, a combination dish of boiled spinach, pork and bamboo shoots is prominent. Sawchair is another well-liked dish prepared from rice and pork or chicken. Vawksa Rep or Smoked Pork is enjoyed by the people very much. It is a dish made from cubes of pork smoked in an open fire to lend it a unique smoky taste and flavored with bamboo shoots and local herbs. Arsa Buhchiar or Chicken with sticky rice is a common dish where a whole chicken is roasted in open fire and then cooked with a combination of sticky rice and local herbs. Misa Mach Poora is a shrimp delicacy popular in the state. Panch Phoron Tarkari is a delightful item to taste. Poora Mach and Koat Pitha are also famous dishes of the Mizo cuisine.I chosed to prepare Koat pitha, a deep fried banana cake which goes for easy ingredients and quick preparation.You can enjoy this deep fried cake with a cup of tea for your evening snacks, these koat pithas are seriously very addictive and even my kids loved it very much.

Friday, April 18, 2014

During this long month marathon, the most challenging regions to cook a dish from its North Eastern regions, am sure my co marathoners will accept this. Its really hard to get a recipe especially for Meghalaya region.Meghalaya is one among the seven states from the Northeastern part of India. As the name says, Meghalaya is the land of clouds and have heavy rainfull during the monsoons.Meghalaya cuisine have unique taste of it own. Meghalaya is the home of three tribes named Khasi, Garo and Jaintia. Obviously this cuisine is a tribal cuisine and its mainly non vegetarian dishes. As like its neighbour regions, rice is the staple food of Meghalaya peoples. The red rice grown locally is relished by the people for its delicious taste. The local people consume meats and pork is the popular meat among the people of the three tribes. The cooking style of Khasi and Jaintia ressembles very much and they use black sesame seeds to temper the pork dishes.Meghalaya is rich in production of fruits like orange,lemon,banana, guava,pineapples, so that the local people love eating fruits.Jadoh is the famous food from Khasi cuisine, this dish is prepared with pork and rice.

Rice cakes are very much popular among the native and they are known as putharo. Pumaloi is an another variety of dry and flaky cake made from rice flour. Among the snacks, deepfried and jaggery sweetened Pukhlein and steamed pusla are the favourite delicacies savored with tea. I chosed to make Pukhlein as they sounds almost like our athirasam but the method was seriously very quick than the famous athirasam. Trust me this dish is dangerously addictive, we couldnt stop munching these fantastic rice cakes.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Manipur is situated in the North Eastern part of India and this state is named as the Land of Jewels coz of its rich tradition with many cultural aspects like dance, theater,sculpture, martial arts and the cuisine. The most distinct characteristic of this Manipuri cuisine is hot and rich in nature. This cuisine have many delicious dishes which are simple to cook and healthy to eat. The staple food of Manipur is rice,fish and leafy vegetables. Most of Manipuris have a kitchen garden where they grow vegetable and a pond where they grown up their fishes.Various aromatic herbs ,roots and certain vegetables are found only in this region are used to prepare their dishes that makes this cuisine so unique from other cuisines of India. Manipuris dishes are mostly hot and they use their locally grown chillies. Iromba is a popular Manipuri dish, this fish chutney consists of fermented fish called Ngari and chillies. Fish have their prominent place in Manipuri cuisine.Ngari is a favourite among the locals, they can give up the meal a day but they cant live without Ngari a day. Food is served traditionally on banana leaves and eaten by sitting on the floor.

Eromba one among the popular Manipuri dish is prepared with potatoes,vegetable and with excess of chillies with dry fish while Singju is a healthy salad prepared with a variety of vegetable and Ngari. Kangshboi or chamthong is a dish prepared with seasonal vegetable and ngari definitely.Morok Metpa is a hot dish prepared with a mixture of dry chillies and green chillies,onions and coriander leaves. While the traditional dishes are hot, this cuisine have a special place for desserts too. Their desserts includes Chahou kheer(rice kheer), Madhur Jaan (gramflour fritters in sweet milk), Kheer Angouba, Khamen Ashinba Athoomba (sweet tomatoes), Sangom kheer (rice pudding), Chakhao Matum (black rice fritters) and Heinou Thongba ( a sweet mango dish) served usually after a heavy meal. I picked Chahou Kheer from this cuisine which goes for simple ingredients like rice,milk, few dry fruits and sugar. Chahou Kheer is nothing the rice kheer which i simply loved as this recipe goes for quick preparation, i used pressure cooker and trust me the cooking time is just less half an hour. An easy breezy kheer you can enjoy both warm or chilled.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Recently i have asked few of my friends from FB to join with me for a cooking challenge, trust me this challenge is already a big hit even before am introducing about this event in this blogsphere. This event is something we are seriously enjoying since ever i combined a pair of foodie bloggers. I know you are nt getting what am talking about.I have recently created this event and the theme of this challenge is to exchange two secret ingredients between a pair of food bloggers mutually, they just need to cook with it either one or two dish depending upon the secret ingredients suggested by their pair. Apart from them, none from the group or even me doesnt know their secret ingredients and each blogger pair i have combined together will reveal their secret ingredient respectively only on the revealing date that is between 16-18th of each month. Sounds interesting and am sure many of us will be curious about this event. Do you want to join us, dont forget to get connect with through our FB group.

I named this event as Shhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge and we are having fun in guessing other's secret ingredients through the pictures each of us have been sharing in our FB group. Trust me its seriously very hard to find out and each of us have done an excellent job by creating delicious dishes from their secret ingredients which is still a mystery for us. Thanks to each and every members of this group for being sportive with loads of enthu.Logo was created by Divya of Divya's Culinary Journey, thanks Divya for this cute logo.I have been paired with Kalpana of Life with Spices and my secret ingredients are Foxtail millet and Spinach.Few days back i prepared this non fermentation dosa with foxtail millet and yellow moongdal.You can also name this dosa as Pesarattu, a delicious dish i cooked with both foxtail millet aka thinai which is spiced up with green chillies and ginger. Serve with a simple coconut chutney or an onion chutney, these dosas are seriously filling and satisfying you can have for both your breakfast or dinner.

Maharashtra is a state in Western region of India, its the second populous state after Uttar Pradesh. Maharashtra is bordered by Arabian sea in west, Gujarat and the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli in Northwest, Madhya Pradesh in North, Chatthisgarh in east, Karnataka in south, Andhra Pradesh in Southeast and Goa in southwest. Mumbai is the capital city of this state and the cuisine of this state differs according to its region.The cuisine and other cultural rituals of this state is divided into two main regions. The Konkan and Varad are the two regions, their cuisine have distinct flavor and texture and they can be immediately identified by any Marathi person. Konkani food have coastal flavor as Konkani people live near the seashore and the ingredients included in their cuisine are fish,coconut,cashewnuts, vegetable, peanuts as they are found in these areas. The Varadi dishes are spicier and they are very popular all over the country. The main diet of a Marathi included lentils, rice,wheat,vegetable and fruit. Rice or bhaat is a common food and its served with bhaji,along with dal, then bhakri, the roti made with wheat,bajra or jowar together or individually.Bhaji is a vegetarian dish prepared prominently with vegetables,spices and rassa is made of potato and cauliflower. Goda masala and kalaa masala are the spicy powders that add distinct flavor to Marathi cuisine.

Maharashtrian special dishes goes mostly for chivda or Bombay mixture, Kande Poha, Usal Pav, Vada Pav. This cuisine also have many popular sweet delicacies and many of them are famous all over India.The list goes for Puran poli, Karanji, Modak,Kheer, Basundi,Jalebi, Shrikhand,Shankarpali. Instead of chosing from this list of dishes, i opted for the famous Lonavala Chikki. Lonavala is named from the word 'Lenya' which means caves in Marathi since its have many rock cut caves. Its Shri Maganlal Agarwal brought chikki to Lonavala more than 125years ago. Actually Shri Maganlal began selling Gurdana, a mixture of jaggery and groundnuts in a huge sack to the laborers, since gurdana is rich in protein and iron, the laborers used to consume it for the instant energey, later this simple gurdana turned to groundnut chikki. Chikki is made from simple ingredients like jaggery,sugar, nuts.You can prepare this chikkis with different nuts, sesame seeds or with a nut. However i used cashewnuts and almonds in this chikki and used the usual white sugar which is caramalised later for giving this beautiful brownish colour to this super addictive chikki.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Its been a year i hosted one of my favourite event called Kid's delight created by Srivalli, am happy to say this month am hosting this event with an interesting theme 'Fat Free Kid's Friendly Recipes'. Its really hard to feed kids now, they just love junk foods and they cant give up them for any reason. But trust me, those oily,fatty junk foods can be prepared at home in a healthy way and they can be eaten without any guilt. This theme is going to be bit challenging, but am sure many of us can come up with wonderful dishes which are completely fat free.

Take this theme as challenge and cook up dishes which can be prepared completely fat free either by steaming, broiling,baking or simply as raw.You have nothing to do apart from bringing me some kid's friendly fat free dishes. Cook up and just link it back to this event. This event will be definitely an eye opener for those who think that we cant cook kid's friendly recipes as fat free.

You need to:

1)Multiple recipes are permitted.
2)Recipes submitted to other events are also permitted.
3)Recipes from archives can be accepted ONLY if updated as current posts.
4)Both Veg and Non veg recipes are accepted
5)Recipes from those who do not blog can be accepted.
6)Link to this announcement as well as to Srivalli's Kid's Delight Announcement Page
7)Add your entries in the linky tool below.
8)This event runs from today to 15th May 2014.

Madhya Pradesh is situated in the central part of India,its well known for its hospitality towards all the touritsts who visit this magnificent land. Their cuisine changes depending upon the people and the regions they belongs, so this cuisine varies regionally.Madhya Pradesh is a foodie's paradise when its comes to traditionl cuisine and richness in all the delicacies that can suit prefectly your tastebuds.Wheat and meat are common in North and west of this state while rice and fish is common in South and east.Places such as Bhopal has a strong Muslim influence and you can enjoy rich food prepared with rice, spices and famous for its kebabs,biryani,korma,keema etc.Indore and Gwalior are well known for its many milk based food products.Dal bafla is a common meal and its prepared with wheat flour, which is a wheat cake cooked by steaming, grilling and dunked in ghee which is eaten with daal and laddoos. A famous breakfast of Indore region of central Madha Pradesh is poha (rice flakes cooked with spices)usually eaten with jalebi.Few famous Madhya Pradesh dishes are Bhutte ki Khees,Chakki ki Shaak, mawa bati, Khoprapak, Shrikhand, Malpua. Obviously Madhya Pradesh cuisine had a special place among the cuisines of India, the biryani of Madhya pradesh is also worth mentioning here.

While am chosing a dish from this cuisine, initially i want to make their famous butte ki khees but while going through this site i got hooked to this interesting crunchy munchy Khurma, dont mistook with the khurma,a sweet kheer we make usually with thin vermicellis.This khurma is a deep fried snacks which is then coated with a sugar syrup. This kurma is as much as like the famous Shakkara para, a sweet biscuits which is quite addictive. Definitely an easy breezy evening snacks you can enjoy with a cup of masala chaai.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Kerala is known as 'Keralam' and 'God's Own Country' is a state in South west region of India on Malabar coast.Sadya is a famous feast meal of the Keralian traditional cuisine, which is mainly served during Onam festival and also in various special occasions. This meal is a strictly pure vegetarian, which is served to the guests with rice and other delicious side dishes. Payasam, which is also called Ada Pradhaman is also served in Sadya and it is actually a dish made of sweet milk, mixed with cooked rice pieces called ada,which is prepared with steamed rice paste and cut as small pieces, is favourite to people of Kerala.Various other popular traditional Keralan food items goes for Boiled rice, Parippu, Kaalan, Sambar, Aviyal, Theeyal, Pulissery, Thoran, Puliinji, Olan, Mooru, Pappadam, Sharkara upperi, Kaya upperi, Appam, Puttu a Steamed Rice Cake, Kappa aka Tapioca, Banana Paayasam and Puzhukku, all these are served in a banana leave for Sadya.Kerala foods are extremely prepared with coconuts, thus they have the distinct flavour and various spices are also used in this cuisine.

Now coming to Kerala's non vegetarian dishes, they are quite famous, the biryanis made by the families in Thalassery are very popular, the traditional dishes of Kerala cuisine includes cooked tapioca along with fish curry called Meen molee, rice congree and cooked moongbean called payaru. Some tradition dish have their influence from Arabic cuisine, a type of pancake cooked with rice flour called 'Pathiri' is said to be originated from 'fateerah' which means Pastry.Also Harees, an another Arabian dish cooked with wheat,chicken or meat is also popular too.Kerala is the only state in India where there is no communal distinction between the different foods. People of all religions share the same vegetrian and non vegetarian dishes. For my today's Kerala special, i cooked chenna erissery aka elephant yam curry along with a simple and delicious jackfruit seed stir fry.With a bowl rice, these both dishes tastes absolutely fantabulous.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Karnataka, this state is in Southern part of India located in the Deccan plateau. This state have many cultural heritage and this reflects in their cuisine and foods. Obviously this state have a diversity and amazing food culture which is very much in variety.Karnataka cuisine is a mix of both vegetarian and non vegetarian cuisine,while pure vegetarian meal is popular in and around. People living in the coastal areas enjoy seafoods. The cuisine Udipi,Malenadu,Kodagu, Mangalorean and Navayath form the part of Karnataka cuisine. Rice is the staple food here, but rotis with wheat, jowar and ragi are consumed very much in northern parts of this state.Sesame and groundnut oil are common cooking oil in this state, eventhough people living in coastal area of Karnataka use coconut oil,some coastal Mangalorean cuisine is influenced by the Goan cuisine, thus they use coconut milk abundantly in their cuisine.

Mangalorean cuisine are spicy in nature, pancakes, rice rotti,kori rotti,neer dosa,sannas are popular dish here while sandige, avalakki and talipittu are quite famous in Malenadu cuisine. Udupi cuisine is strictly vegetarian,onions and garlic are totaly avoided in this cuisine, one cant resist to their masala dosa and the sambar,rasam,pickles, drycurries are special delicacies of this cuisine. Kodagu cuisine is quite an opposite cuisine when compared to the other cuisines of Karnataka, its has so many non vegetarian delicacies like pork curry,chicken curry. While in North Karnataka, rottis prepared with wheat and jowar are quite popular, people of this part make varieties of rotis and they serve it with palya, usli etc.Desserts plays an important role in this cuisine, famous sweets like Mysorepak, chirotti,obbattu,payaa,poppyseeds payasa are very common in this cuisine. For my today's post, i chosed this crispy butter dosa from the city Davanagere in Karnataka. Benne dosa means butter dosa, this dosa is made with a dosa batter but with lots of butter. The side dishes served usually with this butter dosa is a special chutney with some whole spices and grated coconut alongwith potato masala, both tastes awesome with this crispy dosas and we loved it very much.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Jharkhand is state is in Eastern India, its shares its border with Bihar in north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in west, Odisha in south and West Bengal in east. The name Jharkhand means 'The Land of Forests'.After Kashmiri stuffed chillies now we are travelling today to Jharkhandi's cuisine, this cuisine is a traditionl and a combination of various locality from Jharkhand region, so foods are traditional while others comes from mixed culture of adjoining areas. Foods cooked in Jharkhand are very much light on the stomach and they are quiet easy to digest.A touch of the Mugalai cuisine is visible in this cuisine. Roti (bread), rice, dal (pulses) and tarkari (vegetables), bhujia (thinly sliced fried vegetables) constitute the main meal for most of the people in the state. A variety of pickles and chutneys are eaten along with the meals. On Saturdays, people prefer to eat Khichdi (rice cooked with pulses and seasoned with turmeric and chilly powder) with curd, a variety of pickles and chutneys (made from raw mangoes, lemon and tamarind), papad and chokha.

Peoples of Jharkhand also love lipsmacking sweets, they make many varieties of sweets like Thekua, Besan halwa,Sooji ka halwa, Peda, Jalebi,Kheer, Mal pua and many more delicacies of Jharkhand will definitely tickle the taste buds. Tribal people in Jharkhand are fond of using various flowers as vegetable, drumstick flowers and jhirool are the most used varieties, palak,bathua,methi and chana are the main saag vegetables of their cuisine. Blackberry,litchi and mangoes are their popular fruits. Many traditional foods belongs to this cuisine are famous for their medicinal values. Sattu, is an integral part of the Jharkhand food is quite beneficial in hot weather as their refreshing and filling.I cooked Dalpeethi, a fantastic dish for my today's Jharkhand special, wheat flour rolled as small circles then shaped as flowers are cooked in spiced dal makes this fantastic healthy,filling dal peethi,this dish sounds almost like Gujarathi Dal Dhokli. You can have this dish just like that without any accompaniment. This filling dish can enjoyed thoroughly for a lunch or dinner, am sure you will have a satisfying meal.Sending to my own event Healthy Diet-Cooking with Wholegrains guest hosted by Nupur.

Friday, April 11, 2014

After Himachal Pradesh, now we are travelling towards to the 'Switzerland of the East'aka Kashmir. Kashmir is a land of natural beauty situated in the Northwestern region of India.Inspite of talking about its natural gifts, we are going to explore their cuisine. Kashmiri cuisine is very much influenced by the invaders from Central Asia,obviously ita a fusion of several cultures. We can divide Kashmiri cuisine as two, one is Pundit cuisine and the other one is Muslim cuisine. Traditional Pundit cuisine is dominated by whole spices and the muslim cuisine is well known for its delectable non vegetarian slow cooking dishes.Kashmiri cuisine is well known for its spices like cinnamon,cloves, cardamom though saffron is a prominent spice.Most of their cooking is done in mustard oil or with ghee. Unlike in most parts of India, Kashmiri brahmins are allowed to eat lamb,fish and duck.

I cooked this Kashmiri stuffed chillies from a cook book i bought during my trip to India in Chennai, this dish falls under Pundit cuisine of Kashmir.Traditionally Pundit cuisine is not difficult to cook.Foods plays an important role in their rituals, and the most important festival celebrated by the Pundits is Herat or Shivratri.A festive dinner of this Pundit cuisine goes for a sumptuous dinner which includes Roganjosh,Yakhni,Kalia and kofta.Curd is extensively used in Kashmiri cuisines which gives a creamy touch to their food. Rice is their staple food and their grand banquet is called Wazawan where you can see thirty six course of foods. This wazawan is prepared during special functions or marriages, sweets dont have their importance in this cuisine.Kashmiri cuisine is a rich, exotic cuisine with many mouth watering rich dishes with wonderful aromatic flavors.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Himachal Pradesh is a state in North India with Jammu and Kashmir in north as border, Punjab in west and Haryana and Uttarakhand in the south east and by Tibet in the east.Obviously the cuisine of Himachal Pradesh has influence of Punjabi and Tibetan style of cooking. Himchal Pradesh people like very spicy food and the most important food is dal and rice.Rotis are made in daily basis, traditionally Himachali cuisine is dominated by wheat bread and red meat.However like the rest of North India, Himachali cuisine also goes for basic dishes like rice, lentil broth,dish of vegetables and rotis, eventhough they love to make thick, rich gravies with aromatic spices abundantly.Pahari cuisine is a part of Himachal Pradesh cuisine and its have it origin from the beautiful Kangra valley which is in Himalayas. Pahar means mountains and thus their cuisine is named as Pahari cuisine.Some of the popular dishes from this Pahari cuisine is Katta, Palda, Channa Madra,Tudkiya Bhath,Mungodi curry,pakodas etc.

I chosed this potatoes in yogurt gravy aka Aloo Palda from here, this dish goes for a yogurt based gravy and its one of the easiest and delicious gravy i have tasted till now. Potatoes cooked slowly in rice-yogurt gives this wonderful looking dish and the cooking process is very simple to make this dish very much quickly. I loved this dish thoroughly with rice served along with pickle and papads. A different gravy to cook and enjoy with rice definitely.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Haryana, is an integral part of Punjab, obviously one can find the touch of Punjabi cuisine in this cuisine. Haryana cuisine is called as Haryanvi cuisine and the food prepared under this cuisine will go for good and pure food, their food goes for simple preparation as much as their civilization. The state of Haryana is named as 'Land of Rotis' coz the natives cant resists themselves from Rotis. Haryanvi foods which goes into the stomach gives a satisfying feeling and obviously any eater can relish this food without any fuss.The most important wealth of Haryana is their milk and milk products. Tea and Buttermilk are the local drinks. Haryana's Thandai is the local delight which is a sweet drink made from milk.Few dishes are very much popular among the Haryanvi natives coz they are prominently agriculteurs,bajra ki khichdi,a whole millet porridge is a famous dish eaten along with ghee. Aloo ki tikki is prepared with mashed potato, stuffed with spicy lentils, this tikki is relished with tamarind chutney is an another famous dish here. Mixed Dal,a dal dish prepared with a mixture of spiced pulses is eaten with ghee are served along with traditional breads include chapattis and pooris.Teet Ka Achar is also famous which is made up of Kair Tree.Since Haryana's wealth is milk and milk products, many of their desserts are prepared with milk and their lists goes for a long.

Actually i was searching for a dessert from Haryanvi cuisine, but finally i ended up with a easy breezy pancakes like sweet dosas called Meethe Pude, i picked this quick sweet Haryanvi style pancakes from Mitha's space, seriously this dish is simple to prepare,easy to cook and you will enjoy each and every bite of this delicious meethe pude. Fennel seeds added in this recipe will gives an excellent flavour while having this sweet thick dosas and i loved it. A simple sweet dosas gets ready in a jiffy with simple ingredients.You can serve this sweets pancakes simply with Thandai or else with honey, but my choice is honey definitely.Sending to my own event Healthy Diet-Cooking with Wholegrains guest hosted by Nupur.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Gujarat is a state in North west coast of India and it know locally as Jewel of the west. This states shares its border with Rajasthan in north, Maharashtra in south, Madhya Pradesh in east and Arabian Sea is west. Whenever we talk about Gujarat, obviously we will talk about Mahatma Gandhi,the father of nation. But tody we are going to talk about their cuisine and their foods. Yes after Goan cuisine, today we are landing to Gujarat. As we know Gujarati foods are primarily vegetarian, its one of the healthiest cuisine in India. A typical Gujarati thali consists of roti or bakri prepared with wheat flour or millet flour,served along with dal or kadhi, rice and side dishes called sabzi. Pickles or chhundas are serves as condiments.Butter milk is considered as a must have in their daily menu and their dishes are distinctivey sweet,salty and spicy at the same time.

Gujarati cuisine have many popular dishes and the list is very much big. Ghevar,basundi,malpua are famous desserts and some their snacks like Mathris, chorafali,ghooghra are well known everywhere. Khaman Dhokla, Khandvi, Handva,Kachori, daal dhokli, Dhokla, fafda,Ganthia,khakhra are most of their evening snacks, these dishes are eaten all over India and they are carried by Gujarati community towards the Southern part of India.Coming to today's recipe this Farsi poori or puri are deep fried crunchy pooris you can munch with a cup of tea for your snacks. These addictive pooris are prepared with simple ingredients and if you can have these crispy pooris you want stop urself just with one. They stay prefect for a week in room temperature, if they are conserved properly.This crispy flat breads are kid's favourite, i loved mine with my cup of coffee.Sending to my own event Healthy Diet-Cooking with Wholegrains guest hosted by Nupur.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Twice a month am introducing newbie bloggers to this immense blogging virtual world, just to showcase their blogs with their guest posts they prepred specially for me and i named the event as Rendez vous with a foodie. Many new fellow bloggers came towards me to join this event and shared their fabulous dishes since ever i started this event. Happy that this event is going successfully since a year. I came to know more about my guest hosts through their replies they shared for my questions along with their guestposts. Each and every posts of my guest hosts are unique in their own way.

Blogging,this immense virtual world is definitely very close to my heart, i gained a bunch of good friends, well wishers and many blogger sisters. My today's guest is also one among them and she was a wonderful person who blogs at Maha's Lovely Home.Actually i crossed her before a year and we became closer to each one through FB. She is one of my sweet sister and a young mom of two cute kids who blogs frequently with healthy stuffs. Her healthy bakes which are completely eggfree,butterfree and sugarfree will definitely makes you awestuck and her collections of foods are just tremendous.Just go through her space, you will get a good collections of beautiful dishes you can dish out without any struggle. I have couples of favourites from her blog and trust me you will definitely enjoy going through her space.

Iam happy to write a guest post for Priya`s versatile blog where the wonderful lady shares interesting food recipes.. Priya sis is a lovely person n cares very much about other bloggers too..I really admire her cooking and especially baking skills.She is very down to earth,simple and spends her valuable time to write comments in each and every blog almost.Some times I surprise,that how she manages home,kids and blog.I tried few baking recipes from her space and they came out simply yummy.Also,Iam a big fan of her non-vegetarian recipes.Even though she presents a single picture,it says allot about the recipe.To be honest,hubby and kids of priya sis are very lucky on getting such a human being as life partner and mother...Sis,,I wish you all the best to future and to your blog..Keep sharing healthy recipes like this always with full of health and wealth.God bless you and your family for ever..

Actually my guest post was in march,and due to the occasions of my kids in India, I was busy and informed to sis that I can`t mail the post.Without any annoys she extended it and gave a chance to write today.Such a sweet lady..Thank you so much for giving this opportunity and Iam feeling thrilled on sharing a recipe in an amazing blog..Thank you so much once again!!!

1)Tell us about your blog and you?

Me Usha Rani.wife of simple+smiley good business man and the most Important proud ful mother of world`s beautiful handsome and sexy boys(MAHADEV N MAHADHIP)..an experimental girl...I write at Mahaslovelyhome which is my cook blog.It`s a very simple blog with south indian and baking recipes(mostly). I share recipes which are easy to cook and saves time mostly.Recently what I observed is more than the traditional n authentic recipes,I have my own creative recipes in my blog. also recently started another blog with name SOME THING HELPFUL where I share blog related techniques,kitchen tips which helps every one...

2)Before and after blogging, tell us what blogging changed your life?

I started my blog in 2011 november.on that time my little son was months baby and up to one year I posted recipes without touching others blogs.that means it was in sleep mode.Again in december(2012) seriously decided to work on it..Blog kept me always busy,made me to think creative,still learning photography,blessed good friends and most Important It made me to feel that Iam not alone. Because here in Foz we don`t have any Indian(hindu) people.so, you can imagine my situation..

3)When and what motivated you to blog about food?

When I was new to here(foz) I was depended on few blogs who posts step wise pics too..One fine day while I was in front of the system unexpectedly created my blog with my kids name and later took it serious to work on it..

4)There are a tons of blogs/pages on food these days, what accordingto you is the speciality of your blog and the food you cook?

what you said is right!!..I observed many blogs.N every year the number is increasing,.It`s really a good improvement..Coming to my case,baking recipes of MLH are healthy n proudly what I feel is most of the recipes are egg less and butter less.Even though my english is not,I feels happy whenever I write about my kids. :)

5) When it comes to cooking, who is your inspiration?

Inspiration!!!..Cooking is not a civil examination to inspire from others..According to me every woman is a good cook. when she turns into wife post,obviously she cook tasty food with a touch of love for her family..After thinking seriously about this question I think my mom, Hubby and my heart and soul are the inspirations.

6)Every newbie blogger faces tons of challenges when its comes to blogging, tell me about one of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome it?Please specify with the facts.

To change the look of blog I suffered allot and using google I(am) learned(ing) about gadgets and widgets which are important to blog.also,I suffered allot for recipe index and blog header.With the help of other blogs and websites I learned at least some thing which helped my blog.

7)What is your best recipe and your favourite recipes you have blogged till now?

4.Click from different angles and click from top positions may looks good(I believe)

5.Keep it simple n don`t load with un necessary stuffs.

6.step wise pics are really helpful .

9)What is your budget for the props,do you have any or else do you manage with your household stuffs?

After deciding to settle down here in foz I started purchasing kitchen materials especially for blog purpose.in the previous two years I purchased allot and I kept blog using stuffs separately.few are high in price too and decided to don`t buy any thing this year.;)

10)How do you plan your blog posts? Do you post rarely,regularly or once a week?

From last year Iam regular in blogging,posting 3-4 recipes per week.even in the 2 last months, when I was in my India trip I arranged scheduled posts and still I have some more posts in draft..But,This year I have some Important promises.So.hope I will be regular same like always.

11)Do you have any other passions apart from food blogging or blogs you own?

Coming to the recipes,Walnuts are very healthy and less in calories.But sadly my two kids hates to eat those nuts.So,specially for them I prepared this rice by adding big handful walnuts and they liked it very much.For a combination I cooked chicken kurma in south indian style by using coconut as a main ingredient and both are tasted good.

PREPARATION TIME- 30 MINUTES

COOKING TIME- 20+20 MINUTES

CARROT WALNUT PULAV:

WHAT YOU NEED

Grated carrot-1 cup

chopped green bell pepper-3/4 cup

canned sweet corn-3/4 cup

walnuts-15

basmati rice-2 cups

red chili powder-1 tsp(as per taste)

salt-to taste

onion-1 med size

biryani garam masala-1 tsp

turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

ginger garlic paste-1/2 tbsp

coconut milk-1/2 cup

TO TEMPER

1 tbsp-oil

1 tbsp-ghee/butter

cardamom pods-3

cloves-4

cinnamon stick-2 inches

shahejeera/black cumin-1 tsp

HOW TO COOK

Heat a pan and dry roast walnuts and break into 4 pieces.Wash rice and soak for 20-25 minutes.

Heat a big pan with oil+ghee and saute Ingredients which given below to temper.

Fry well and throw chopped onion and saute for 2 more minutes in big flame.

Next add carrot,bell pepper and corns and mix well..Add enough salt and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

Then add GGP,chili powder,turmeric and mix once again..after 2 minutes add coconut milk,masala powder and walnuts..stir once again well.

Goan , a seashore land situated in the West coast of India.Goa have a strong influence of both Portuguese and Indian culture together, this is very much reflected in their cuisine.The cuisine of Goa can be divided into two cuisine, one is the Goan Hindu cuisine which goes for lentils,vegetables etc, onion and garlic are not used much in this cuisine,also they use less spices and very little oil,while the other one is Goan Catholic cuisine very much influenced by the Portuguese culture though this cuisine is a combination of Konkani,South Indian, Portuguese, British and Saraswat cuisines.Obviously the food culture of Goa is a happy union of both East and west India. Since Goa is blessed abundantly with coconut tress, they cook their food mostly with coconut thus the extensive use of coconut in their cuisine. Coconut oil and coconut mlk is very much used in their cuisine specially for making their non vegetarian dishes.

For my today's post for Goa, i chosed to cook this simple and fingerlicking curry from Goan Catholic cuisine which is cooked quite often during the monsoon season in Goa. This dish is quite easy to prepare but its tastes simply awesome when served along with rice or Goan famous Sannas, steamed cooked rice cakes. I cooked this Sorak from here, and we loved it with rice.If you want to make some spicy simple curry, just give a try to this bright, eye pleasing Sorak curry from Goan cuisine.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Thanks to each and everyone for sending all your delicious entries to this fantastic event. Each recipe rocks and loved going through it. Some posts are tempting me to make soon. Enjoy the diary free foods virtually and am sure some of us will definitely gonna bookmark some for the sure.Pari,the brain child of the event will be announcing soon the winner of this event. A very big thanks to all my dear food bloggers who participated enthusiastically and made this event a huge success.

Whoever love to cook vegan or want to try vegan dishes, please dont forget to bookmark this post for further use.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Delhi, the capital of India is well known for its cosmopolitan way of life. Delhi offers best cuisine and the very best of the taste from all over the country. Delhi been a most favoured and favourite city of Mughals, Delhi cuisine have the secrets of the rich and royal Mughali foods. This cuisine consists a superb mix of aromatic spices, butter based curries, loads of dry fruits and roasted meats cooked in earthern ovens called tandoors.Since Punjab is nearby to Delhi, punjabi recipes brought by the Punjabi community to Delhi are quite popular in Delhi. Obviously the traditional food of New Delhi has no distinctiveness. However certain food items for which Delhi is quite famous, mostly for its streetfoods.

For example Chandni Chowk area of the city boasts most delicious parathas aka many sort of Indian bread. Infact most of the areas of Old Delhi is famous for the local Delhi cuisine. There is a Bengali market in New Delhi is very much popular for its chaat papri, golgappas, sweets etc. As i told earlier, Delhi is popular for street foods,many roadside vendors serves awesome local cuisine. Initially for today's post for Delhi, am planning to make some papdi chaat, but finally i opted for this mildly tangy,sweet and mildy spiced tamarind kulfi aka Imli Ka Kulfi from Vaishali's space which i bookmarked during our ABCD long marathon. Thanks to Vaishali, i thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic Kulfi.